Cadden Jurors' Names to be Released

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The names of the jurors who decided the fate of Barry J. Cadden during a 10-week trial ending March 22 will be made public following his June 26 sentencing.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns decided Friday to release the names. His decision comes after a Boston, Mass. radio station filed a motion to force release of the names, which normally are made public shortly after a trial is completed.
Stearns had offered no reason for withholding the names, but in his Friday order he contended the usual routine in his court was to only release the names of jurors when a case was completed.
In his order Stearns said that in consideration of the "extended periods of time" between trials and "in view of the public's long term interest in maintaining an open judicial process," he would release the names following Cadden's sentencing.
Cadden, the former head of the New England Compounding Center was convicted on 57 felony counts on charges stemming from the investigation of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated drugs shipped from the company headquarters in Framingham, Mass.
Stearns issued his decision in a two-page order issued Friday. The motion seeking to intervene and move to order the release of the jurors' names was filed by WBUR.
Reporters have been anxious to question jurors because of a document called the jurors' voters slip made public just after the jury was dismissed. The document indicated that a majority of jurors had voted to convict Cadden on some but not all of the second degree murder charges.
Under the judge's standard instructions, the jurors were told a unanimous vote was required on each The tally sheet showed eight jurors voted for a guilty finding on second degree murder in cases from Michigan and Tennessee, while four voted not guilty.
In the Indiana cases the vote was 9-3 in favor of a guilty finding. The vote for a guilty finding was 7-5 on the Maryland cases.
In the Virginia cases the vote was 3 for guilty and 9 not guilty. In the Florida and North Carolina cases the vote was 12-0 for a not guilty verdict.
As explained in the 50-page jury instructions the jury had to consider the specific state laws in deciding their votes on the second degree murder charges. Virginia, Florida and North Carolina statutes had stricter standards for reaching a guilty finding.
Prosecutor have cited the tall sheets as evidence the jury carefully considered all of the charges and that the majority found that a second degree murder charges was proven in four of seven states.
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